Super Bowl XIX Highlights
The 49ers demolished the Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX and reinforced
a lesson to football fans: Defenses still hold the key to championship games.
"As good as Joe Montana was," The Sporting News wrote, "it
was the 49er defense that performed the miracle of Super Bowl XIX, thereby
taking the luster off Dan Marino's rising star."
In just his second year in the NFL, Marino torched the league for a season-record
48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards passing. But, as the Nov. 18, 1995, San Jose
Mercury News pointed out, George Seifert devised the defense that did what
nobody else could -- shut down Marino and suffocate the Dolphins:
The Dolphins jumped to a 10-7 lead, with Marino completing nine of his
first 10 passes for 103 yards -- all in the first quarter. It was then
that Seifert went to work, pulling a linebacker and going to five defensive
backs in a plan that ultimately ruined the biggest game of Marino's career.
The Dolphins didn't score in the second half, and Marino unraveled, completing
29 of 50 for 318 yards, with one touchdown, two interceptions and four
sacks, including three in the third quarter.
Quarterback Joe Montana ... would be named the game's MVP, but the unsung
Seifert had as much to do with the outcome as anyone.
That notion is supported by The Sporting News' account:
Seifert put in some new line stunts for the game ... designed to put
pressure on center Dwight Stephenson, Miami's best lineman. "We had
to tie him up on every play so we could go right up the middle on Marino,"
49ers defensive end Gary Johnson said. [Marino had been sacked only 13
times in the regular season and not once in the playoffs. But the 49ers
dropped Marino a career-high four times.]
The four-man line ... also shut off the Dolphins' feeble running game,
which had its lowest output of the year (25 yards). Marino was forced to
throw 50 passes, completing 29 -- both Super Bowl records -- but his 318
yards in the air ... was his second-lowest total of his last six games,
and much of that yardage came in the fourth quarter when the 49ers eased
into their "prevent" mode. Only one other time in the season
had he been limited to just one TD pass. ...
Marino was having problems dissecting San Francisco's ever-changing
blend of defensive coverages. "We are mainly a zone team, but we played
more man than we usually do," safety Carlton Williamson said.
"We 'collisioned' [the Miami receivers] off the line," safety
Dwight Hicks said. "That gave the line lots of time to rush."
Marino particularly had trouble when the 49ers played man-to-man with four
defensive backs and then kept two safeties in a deep zone. |
| 
George Seifert,
defensive
coordinator
Super Bowl XIX
January 20, 1985
Stanford Stadium
Attendance: 84,059
MVP: Joe Montana
Game coverage:
The
Sporting News:
"49ers Harpoon Dolphins" |
1984 San Francisco 49ers Roster
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Exp College
68 Ayers, John G 6-5 265 4/14/53 8 West Texas St.
76 Board, Dwaine DE 6-5 248 11/29/56 5 N. Carolina A&T
57 Bunz,Dan LB 6-4 225 10/7/55 6 Long Beach St.
95 Carter, Michael NT 6-2 281 10/29/60 R SMU
6 Cavanaugh, Matt QB 6-2 212 10/27/56 7 Pittsburgh
87 Clark, Dwight WR 6-4 215 1/8/57 6 Clemson
29 Clark, Mario CB 6-2 195 3/29/54 9 Oregon
89 Cooper, Earl TE 6-2 227 9/17/57 5 Rice
33 Craig, Roger RB 6-0 222 7/10/60 2 Nebraska
51 Cross, Randy G 6-3 265 4/25/54 9 UCLA
74 Dean, Fred DE 6-2 232 2/24/52 10 Louisiana Tech
50 Ellison, Riki LB 6-2 220 8/15/60 2 USC
71 Fahnhorst, Keith T 6-6 273 2/6/52 11 Minnesota
81 Francis, Russ TE 6-6 242 4/3/53 9 Oregon
86 Frank, John TE 6-3 225 4/17/62 R Ohio State
49 Fuller, Jeff S 6-2 216 8/8/62 R Texas A&M
24 Harmon, Derrick RB 5-10 202 4/26/63 R Cornell
22 Hicks, Dwight S-CB 6-1 192 4/5/56 6 Michigan
28 Holmoe, Tom S 6-2 180 3/7/60 2 BYU
97 Johnson, Gary DE 6-2 261 8/31/53 10 Grambling
94 Kelcher, Louie NT 6-5 310 8/23/53 10 SMU
66 Kennedy, Allan T 6-7 275 1/8/58 3 Washington St.
42 Lott, Ronnie CB-S 6-0 199 5/8/59 4 USC
53 McColl, Milt LB 6-6 230 8/28/59 4 Stanford
62 McIntyre, Guy G 6-3 271 2/17/61 R Georgia
43 McLemore, Dana CB-KR 5-10 183 7/l/60 3 Hawaii
32 Monroe, Carl RB-KR 5-8 166 2/20/60 2 Utah
16 Montana, Joe QB 6-2 195 6/11/56 6 Notre Dame
52 Montgomery, Blanchard LB 6-2 236 2/17/61 2 UCLA
83 Nehemiah, Renaldo WR 6-1 183 3/24/59 3 Maryland
77 Paris, Bubba T 6-6 295 10/6/60 2 Michigan
65 Pillers, Lawrence DE 6-4 250 11/4/52 9 Alcorn State
56 Quillan, Fred C 6-5 266 1/27/56 7 Oregon
64 Reynolds, Jack LB 6-1 232 11/22/47 15 Tennessee
30 Ring, Bill RB 5-10 205 12/13/56 4 BYU
4 Runager, Max P 6-1 189 3/24/56 6 South Carolina
90 Shell, Todd LB 6-4 225 6/24/62 R BYU
67 Shields, Billy T 6-8 279 8/23/53 10 Georgia Tech
88 Solomon, Freddie WR 5-11 188 1/11/53 10 Tampa
72 Stover, Jeff DE 6-5 275 5/22/58 3 Oregon
79 Stuckey, Jim DE 6-4 253 6/21/58 5 Clemson
78 Tuiasosopo, Manu NT 6-3 252 8/30/57 6 UCLA
58 Turner, Keena LB 6-2 219 10/22/58 5 Purdue
26 Tyler, Wendell RB 5-10 200 5/20/55 7 UCLA
99 Walter, Mike LB 6-3 238 11/30/60 2 Oregon
14 Wersching, Ray K 5-11 210 8/21/50 12 California
27 Williamson, Carlton S 6-0 204 6/12/58 4 Pittsburgh
85 Wilson, Mike WR 6-3 210 12/19/58 4 Washington St.
21 Wright, Eric CB 6-1 180 4/18/59 4 Missouri
